ComputerHunter.org

 

Losing A Career Can Feel Like Getting A Divorce


Most of us are aware that we need to grieve the death of a close friend, relative or favorite pet. We are beginning to learn that other events -- relocation, divorce, illness -- can also be experienced as loss.

Losing a career or business can also be a source of grief, anger and frustration. Starting a new business is an end as well as a beginnig. You may feel as though you are getting a divorce after a twenty-year marriage. Here's why.

1. Sometimes the career leaves you. The field wants "younger people." Or you have to change in ways that violate your sense of self.

2. Sometimes you leave a career that seems perfectly wonderful and fulfilling to those on the outside. "The money's so good," your mother says, "and it's not as if you're scrubbing floors all day. Can't you just hang in there and pretend you like it?"

3. You feel disloyal. After all, you've gained a lot from this career. For the rest of your life, you will view the world through the lens created by your training and experience. You will question assumptions, criticize, challenge, argue, prepare, organize, or negotiate.

4. Friends take sides. After you leave, some former colleagues no longer return your calls. Others try to engage you in a rousing session of "Aren't they horrible," which you don't want either.

5. Those left behind begin to feel abandoned. Are you leaving for a new love, an opportunity that will be livelier, more exciting, and yes, even sexier? Worst case: you're leaving for a new career that your former associates find entirely unsuitable.

6. You have started projects that you will be unable to finish because your new life has no room for them. Anyway, without your former big-name affiliation, you have no credibility to raise them to a level you can present or sell.

7. Your new identity gains you access to new and exciting places, but people treat you differently. You feel naked without the old title on your business card.

8. The rules of the game have changed since the last time you were unattached. And this time around, you're less interested in those "how to get lucky" sessions.

9. You spend more time in the gym. You spend hours walking the dog. You try new hair styles, dare to enter an art gallery, read your first self-help book and consider talking to a professional who bears little resemblance to Jennifer Melfi.

10. You're starting to think, "Being on my own for the rest of my life may not be such a bad thing."

I offer one-to-one consultations on career strategy.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

"Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294







Google News - Top Stories

USA Today

A guide to the Blagojevich impeachment
MSNBC - 39 minutes ago
By Tom Curry Here is a guide to the process by which Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois might be removed from office Impeachment is the formal accusation of wrongdoing, lobbed by a legislative body against an executive branch official, such as a governor ...
CQ Transcripts Wire Washington Post
Blagojevich impeached over alleged Senate-for-sale scandal Salt Lake Tribune
New York Times - ABC News - CNN - NECN
all 4,092 news articles


WELT ONLINE

UN agency to resume Gaza aid work
BBC News - 1 hour ago
The UN aid agency Unrwa is to resume operations in Gaza as soon as possible after receiving assurances on safety from Israel, a spokeswoman said.
UN aid chief disappointed Gaza truce call ignored Reuters
30 Confirmed Dead in Shelling of Gaza Family New York Times
The Associated Press - Xinhua - Aljazeera.net - Times Online
all 39,172 news articles


The Associated Press

US lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008
International Herald Tribune - 2 hours ago
By Louis Uchitelle NEW YORK: US employers shed 2.6 million jobs in 2008, the worst year since 1945, the government reported Friday, and a rapidly deteriorating economy promises more significant losses ahead.
Video: Jobless Rate Jumps to 7.2 Percent in December AssociatedPress
Unemployment hits 7.2 percent Bizjournals.com
Washington Post - MarketWatch - Forbes - TheStreet.com
all 2,018 news articles


SCENARIOS: Challenges for Obama intelligence team
Reuters - 38 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama on Friday named retired Adm. Dennis Blair to oversee US spy agencies as director of national intelligence, and chose former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta as CIA director.
Obama completes national security team The Associated Press
Pelosi on Panetta: ''Impeccable judgment, unquestioned integrity'' San Francisco Chronicle
USA Today - MSNBC - Voice of America - Bloomberg
all 3,238 news articles


Reuters

U.S. Supreme Court to hear two appeals on 'race politics'
Los Angeles Times - 45 minutes ago
Justices will decide whether to strike down laws that provide special protections to minorities in the workplace and in the voting booth.
Supreme Court to Rule on Voting Rights Act Washington Post
Supreme Court to hear challenge to voting rights act USA Today
New York Times - Reuters - CNN - The Associated Press
all 250 news articles

Google
 

Copyright © 2006 Computer Hunter - A Division of Arthur´s Job Base